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Dead MFD...SECOND TIME! What to do?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by macmaster05, Aug 31, 2016.

  1. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2009
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hey guys, I'm back. And this time with a problem.

    I'm currently at 106,000 miles on my 2009 Prius and for the past 2 weeks my MFD has flickered on and off, resetting itself at random while the car is IG on. I was hoping this was an issue with my 12V battery but I checked the 12V and it's as good as new (got it replaced about 3 years ago). I ignored the problem since it was only intermittent and surprisingly did not interfere with any GPS or radio or climate control memory. I guess you could say it was a "cosmetic" defect that I did not (and still don't) want to pay the Toyota service guys for. Additionally I had my MFD die completely back in January 2014 while I was under the extended warranty. The Toyota dealership replaced and I thought the problem was solved. Well, tonight after the flickering came back, I think my screen might have died completely, again. It usually restarts but so far it has not restarted at all. The radio works fine but the screen is just black. In fact, there are no "green" lights around the MFD when the headlights are on either now (the Menu, Climate, Info, Audio, Map buttons etc etc).

    My question is simple and not-simple: What should I do? If the screen never comes back to life like it didn't in 2014 then I'll never be able to use my GPS again (which I love), accurately control my A/C (which is a must in Los Angeles), and all the other conveniences associated with that screen. I don't feel good about shelling out $2000 to fix this, and in my experience, that may not even fix it permanently. I'd hate to be in that place.

    I've seen some threads on similar issues and even cases where people offered to repair it for them, but those are largely outdated threads and, of course, everybody's situation is different which is why I'm posting this. Please advise, thank you so much!!

    PS - here is a picture of the intermittent screen which I happened to capture tonight minutes before it went off completely. This is a pretty typical image of what it would look like. There would be other patterns occasionally. Turn on, glitch out like this, and turn off. Rinse and repeat.

    PPS - ignore the flat tire warning- the guys at America's Tire were supposed to patch it correctly the first time but they didn't. I'll go back for it in a couple weeks when I have them rotated.

    image1.JPG
     
    #1 macmaster05, Aug 31, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2016
  2. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    Three
    You could try eBay.
     
  3. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2009
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    That's it??? Is anyone still around PC these days??! Patrick? Darrel? F8L?!?
     
  4. Jghake

    Jghake Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2013
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    Location:
    Washington, USA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Mine is doing the same thing. I took the battery out today and took it down to the auto parts store. They told me the battery was good but needed charged. (hasn't been driven much the last six months) I put it on a 12v 10A charger for 90 minutes and took it back to them and they said it was fine.

    Put the battery back in and the screen still isn't turning on. Every once in a while it will turn on, do what your picture shows, then reboot over and over again.

    Is my only option to replace with a new one or can I get mine repaired? Did you ever get yours figured out?
     
  5. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Contact Steve at Autobeyours. He has used MFDs and may have an idea of what the problem is.
     
    Jghake likes this.